Think of a number of where you feel that your lift starts to breakdown. If you’ve any spent time diagnosing your own movement, then you probably also have a pretty good idea what happens — you come onto your toes, bar swings way out, jumping forward to catch the bar. Most athletes that come to me are also pretty savvy that way.

What they usually don’t realize is that the breakdown doesn’t happen that far into their lifting like they feel it does. The number I’m given is usually one that’s above 80% of their max; and at this stage in the game, your body can’t regain control of the weight by muscling it back into position, especially at the speeds at which you’re moving, and so things start to feel “off”. This, of course, only gets worse as it gets heavier making the latter attempts even more questionable.

If you’re self-diagnosing your own movement, start your videoing early on. I find that I can catch faulty movement patterns as early as watching an athlete warm-up on an empty bar. Then, spend time at the lighter percentages retooling your movement. Up to 70%-75% of your max is a good place to drill lots of volume to rebuild movement patterning cause speed can be somewhat tempered at these loads. Speed is the killer and your body will always default into a movement pattern that is deeply practiced when moving at high velocities. As you rebuild your movement, keep the majority of volume under where the breakdown occurs saving the heavier attempts for lesser occasions. This method may take a bit of time, but the rewards down the line are well worth initial investment.